Dallas Stars Display Resilience with Two Wins Against Defending Champs

LAS VEGAS – The Dallas Stars have shown their resilience by bouncing back from losing the first two games at home to beat the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights twice on their turf, including a crucial 4-2 victory in Game Four of their NHL playoffs series. In Monday night’s matchup, Roope Hintz suffered an injury after being hit by a blast from the point that caused him to fall to the ice in pain but he later scored into the empty net on the other side of the rink to seal the win for his team. The Stars were also beneficiaries of goals in the first period that both teams’ goalies would have preferred not to concede – Michael Amadio managed to sneak a rebound past Jake Oettinger, and Evgenii Dadonov scored from the goal line when Logan Thompson’s mask deflected it into the net. The Golden Knights outshot the Stars 14-8 in the first period but Dallas took control of the game with two goals during the second – Wyatt Johnston scoring on a powerplay midway through the stanza to level again after Jack Eichel found success following an early goal from Smithson’s rebound. After Eichel capitalized once more off a rebound, Craig Smith had his shot go in thanks to Dellandrea who deflected it into the net with 1:26 left on the clock – an error which Coach Bruce Cassidy labeled as “inexcusable.” Dellandrea himself scored two goals during the third period of last year’s Western Conference final, helping his team keep their playoff hopes alive. In a defensive-focused strategy that mirrored Vegas in Dallas, Dallas ended any lingering doubts when Hintz slammed an empty net goal with 1:22 remaining – effectively quashing further scoring chances by the Golden Knights who had previously outshot them heavily during the third period (15-7). “There’s no panic in our game,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. The team’s determination and grit has been evident throughout their playoff run, as they weathered a storm from Vegas following Hintz’ injury before finding victory – leaving them just one win away from levelling the series ahead of Wednesday night’s Game Five in Dallas.